With the Detroit Lions operating a skeleton coaching staff, dealing with a plethora of injuries, including losing Matthew Stafford after the first series, facing off against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team looking to clinch their first playoff appearance in over a decade, and led by arguably the best quarterback to ever set foot on the gridiron — the results were predictable.
An ugly 47-7 loss that featured almost no redeeming qualities, illustrated the fact that there is plenty of blame to be spread around the Lions organization.
The defense is currently getting most of the heat — allowing 47 points tend to do that — but the offense didn’t do them any favors. The offense’s inability to sustain drives afforded them only 53 snaps over 24-minutes, while the defense was forced to defend for 77 snaps over 36-minutes.
This imbalance pushed the Lions into situations where they needed to force the passing game, while also shifting to a more aggressive defense. Again, predictably, nothing worked.
With the Lions essentially telegraphing their gameplan, the Bucs merely adjusted accordingly, and Bucs coach Bruce Arians swiftly outmaneuvered the Lions’ inexperienced play-callers.
Looking forward, the Lions have one final game remaining in the 2020 season: at home against the Minnesota Vikings. If they hope to be competitive in Week 17, they will need significantly better output from their offense, while getting more efficiency out of their defense — specifically, their pass rushers, who are getting healthier and seeing more playing time.
That and more in this week’s snap count review.
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